Click—clack—
The core of the room's lock turned, opened by someone.
All the messy images in Kafni's mind disappeared.
Her right hand ceased its restlessness as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, dispelling the heat entirely.
Her heart raced with the sound of the lock turning, rising to her throat.
"Mom, I'm back."
A crisp voice of a young girl rang out.
Boots tread upon the entrance hall's passageway.
Tap tap tap.
The footsteps drew closer and closer.
—This is bad.
Kafni felt a chill creeping up her ankles and rapidly ascending.
In no time, her entire back was ice-cold.
Someone pushed open the door and entered the room that was absolutely 'off-limits'.
Moreover, Kafni recognized who the owner of that voice was.
A red-haired girl.
The captain of the Snow Goose Adventure Team, Lia!
If Lia entered the room and found the team member she loathed the most was also there, and in the bedroom, 'treating' her mother...
Hisss.
Kafni drew a sharp breath.
The scenario was too horrifying even to contemplate.
Without a second word, she snatched Monica from under the table and dashed for the balcony.
Deity's rule number one: when facing danger, prioritize strategic retreat!
Just before jumping down, Kafni's mind suddenly flashed with Lin Da's tall figure in battle—"I won't leave any teammate behind!"
She seemed to hear someone's resounding voice beside her ear.
Ah ah ah!
Kafni inwardly cursed in frustration.
Why did she have to think of Lin Da's cool side at a time like this!
It made it impossible for her to abandon Lin Da and escape by herself!
Footsteps from the entrance hall were getting nearer.
She could already see just the tip of a brown boot.
In no more than a second, Lia would spot her.
Quick, she had to act fast.
Kafni was so anxious she was sweating.
She held Monica tucked under her arm, the socially anxious girl's pale legs flailing about.
With the Agility attribute of a thief maximized, Kafni swiftly arrived in front of the bedroom door.
She didn't care what the two inside were doing anymore, she just pushed the door open:
"You two, stop right there, Lia, Lia is here!"
At this moment,
Lin Da was just about to start the treatment.
"Lady, I'm going to start now, okay?"
From Kafni's angle, she could only see Lin standing with his back to her atop the bed, and on the other side, Lady Bellini, sitting in a duck-like position, looking up at Lin.
Lin had his left hand on her head to maintain balance.
Since Bellini was completely blocked by Lin, whatever they were doing was not at all clear to see.
But, they definitely were not helping Lin stitch his trousers.
Kafni and Monica, who had never eaten pork but had read plenty of comic books and seen countless pigs run, both misunderstood, blushing furiously!
"Stop it, you jerk, now's not the time for this!"
"Uh-uh, Lord Captain, it's a pervert!"
One was panicking, and the other blurted out, ashamed.
"Huh?"
Lin shook his body in shock, turning around in confusion.
On his hand was a Slime gel sleeve.
And Lady Bellini shyly opened her red lips, like a patient waiting for the dentist's treatment.
"What are you thinking!"
Lin was half crying, half laughing.
How could he bear to use such a method on Lady Bellini?
Wasn't that just blatantly asking for trouble and standing against The Mandalas?
He had come to the bedroom with Bellini and closed the door precisely to avoid misunderstanding.
Little did he expect Kafni would peek.
"Wait, what did you just say in the last sentence?"
Lin Da discovered a blind spot.
Just as Kafni heaved a sigh of relief, her nerves tensed up again, "Quick, hide! Lia is coming!"
"Lia?!"
The two people on the bed exclaimed in unison.
Lin Da was surprised.
Lady Bellini was a mix of shock and fear.
If her daughter found out she and Lin Da were in the bedroom together, and they had taken apart the Slime gel sleeve...
Oh my God! Lady Bellini's vision went dark, and she almost fainted on the bed!
"Where is Lia now?" Lin Da asked calmly.
"Uh..."
Lin Da didn't need Kafni to answer, as he got his answer.
The sound of footsteps approached the bedroom.
The situation wasn't looking good, was it?
...
With a click, the bedroom door was pushed open.
"Mom, it's almost afternoon, are you still not awake? Your letter sounded nice, but your health has deteriorated again!"
Lia frowned in reproach as she turned on the magic lamp by the door.
As the light came on, the darkness in the bedroom completely disappeared.
The sight before her made a hint of suspicion appear on Lia's face.
Why did her mother seem different today compared to usual?
Lady Bellini's face was flushed, as if she had been sweating after vigorous exercise.
She couldn't even look at her daughter, as if she had done something wrong.
Lady Bellini lay slantingly on the bed, leaning against the wall, covered with a large blanket.
In her arms, she held a very long hammerhead shark stuffed animal,
to her left and right were stuffed animals of a cat and a hush puppy.
All were long, the kind of best-selling sleep companions you find in stores, and Lia had one herself. Searᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
But did Lady Bellini need to hold three to fall asleep?
The bed was stuffed so full it bulged.
Didn't that feel uncomfortable?
The more Lia thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Lady Bellini smiled gently and said, "Mom has been obsessed with pillows these past few days, without them I just can't calm down..."
"Are you feeling very poorly? Why is your voice trembling when you talk?"
Lia walked worriedly to the side of the bed. Discover exclusive tales on m,v l'e-NovelFire.net
"No, not at all, ah, um~ just a bit of a fever, that's all."
Lady Bellini stuttered, her complexion changed, she bit her lip as if holding back something.
"Are you okay, mom? You look like you have a bad fever!" Lia pouted, rummaging through the cabinet for fever-reducing pills.
Taking advantage of her daughter's back being turned, Lady Bellini solemnly touched the head of the hammerhead shark pillow and whispered a complaint:
"Please, don't move around, Lia will find out!"
Hammerhead Shark: "Got it."
Yes.
Inside this one-and-a-half-meter-long, oversized hammerhead shark, a man was hiding.
In the nick of time before Lia entered the room, Lin Da and the others took the cotton out of the pillows and jumped inside.
Even though Lin Da didn't mind making a grand entrance,
he couldn't stand Lady Bellini's earnest pleading.
Lin Da, soft-hearted, agreed.
At this moment, the hammerhead shark lying on top of Lady Bellini was him.
The innermost cat pillow was Monica.
The outer hush puppy was Kafni.
That is to say, this small bed was, in fact, crammed with four people...
Lia had no idea about the truth, thinking that only she and her mother were in the room. Murmuring "idiot, can't even take care of your own health," she brewed a fever-reducing potion for Lady Bellini.
"Lord Captain, Monica, Monica's hot, I'm going to suffocate."
The cat stuffed animal nudged the hammerhead shark, and a faint voice came out from inside.
The face-down Kafni also muttered, "I'm exploding, the bear is going to crush me..."
"Can you keep it down? If we're found out, it'll cause trouble for Lady Bellini," Lin Da said exasperatedly.
Lady Bellini heard the others talking under the covers and was so anxious she nearly cried. Couldn't they consider someone else's feelings for once?
"Stop talking, all of you!"
The lady twisted the ear of the hammerhead shark, puckered her lips, and reproachfully said.
The three pillows finally stopped talking.